1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a disposable paper sheet used as a toilet seat cover for sanitary purpose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following 1.3 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art references which are related to the present invention.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 1,284,077 issued to Luna May Ennis on Nov. 5, 1918 for “Sanitary Seat Cover For Toilets” (hereafter the “Ennis Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 1,452,552 issued to Leo J. Frear on Apr. 24, 1923 for “Sanitary Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Frear Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 1,702,070 issued to Thomas L. Young on Feb. 12, 1929 for “Sanitary Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Young Patent”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 1,761,391 issued to Clara F. Harris on Jun. 3, 1930 for “Sanitary Shield For Toilet Seats” (hereafter the “Harris Patent”);
5. United States Design Patent No. Des. 174,213 issued to Jose Brito on Mar. 15, 1955 for “Disposable Paper Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Brito Design Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,992 issued to Geradus M. Tromp on May 5, 1981 for “Paper Sheet Cartridge” (hereafter the “Tromp Patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,617 issued to Eskild G. Thygesen et al. on Aug. 30, 1988 for “Disposable Sanitary Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Thygesen Patent”);
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,242 issued to Leonard N. Albrecht et al. and assigned to Alvin S. Haining et al. on Oct. 24, 1989 for “Compact Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Albrecht Patent”);
9. United States Design Patent No. Des. 320,069 issued to Jean T. Rossiter on Sep. 17, 1991 for “Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Rossiter Design Patent”);
10. United States Design Patent No. D451,178 issued to William Yates Massey, Jr. on Nov. 27, 2001 for “Portable Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Massey Design Patent”);
11. U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,578 issued to Mark Bernsley on Nov. 29, 2005 for “Child's Disposable Toilet Seat Adaptor With Side Handles And Fold-Under Flap” (hereafter the “Bernsley Patent”);
12. European Patent Application No. 0,628,278 issued to Walter J. Breyer and assigned to Scott Paper Company on Dec. 14, 1994 for “Flushable, Laminated Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Breyer European Patent Application”);
13. International Application No. WO 99/34720 issued to Josef Kodet et al. on Jul. 15, 1999 for “Sanitary Toilet Seat Cover” (hereafter the “Kodet International Application”).
The Ennis Patent which issued in 1918 is a seat cover for toilets. It discloses slot cut portions B which can be used to separate the center section from the body of the cover.
The Frear Patent which issued in 1923 is also a roll of sanitary covers which is attached to the toilet and which can be pulled by tabs 8 to remove one seat cover from the roll of seat covers.
The Young Patent which issued in 1929 is a sanitary toilet seat cover which has flaps which are designed to hang onto the interior of the bowl to facilitate the carrying away of the cover in the flushing operation.
The Harris Patent which issued in 1930 is also a sanitary cover. It discloses a use of tabs 20 by which the seat cover may be removed from the toilet seat after use.
The Brito Patent which issued in 1955 is a design patent which protects the shape of a toilet seat cover.
The Tromp Patent is a paper sheet cartridge which discloses having longitudinally extending slits 35 and 37 forming a curve out of portion 39 and a central tongue 41. There are two slits 57 and 58 shown but these don't serve any functional purpose.
The Thygesen Patent which issued in 1988 discloses a disposable sanitary toilet seat cover. It discloses a finger hole 6 which can be used for gripping in the process of tearing off the central potion. However, the disadvantage of the Thygesen invention is that the finger hole is located on the edge of the central portion which is bounded by a die cut line, wherein a part of the edge of the finger hole is aligned with the die cut line. Therefore, the finger hole disappears once it is used to tear a portion of the interior section of the die cut line away from the remainder of the toilet seat cover.
The Albrecht Patent discloses a compact toilet seat cover which includes a small piece of tape 58 and a protective liner 62.
The Rossiter Patent discloses the design for a toilet seat cover.
The Massey Patent is a design patent, which discloses a portable toilet seat cover. There is a groove which is shown at the bottom but is unclear what purpose it serves.
The Bernsley Patent is a disposable toilet seat cover which has more of a solid cover designed so that a child can sit in the toilet and not fall in.
The Breyer European Patent Application discloses a flushable toilet seat cover which can dissolve when it falls into the toilet seat.
Finally, the Kodet International Patent Application discloses a sanitary toilet seat cover which consists of two water soluble layers so that it can dissolve in the toilet.
There is a significant need to significantly improve the ability to tear away the center portion of a die cut toilet seat cover.